The best online retailers for buyers in the Philippine?

[aerolb]

Looking at the resource directory and they all look impressive - however, I just want to find out any customer experiences with these retailers? Any horror stories or good service stories out there?

[yamizero]

yah. its been a while since they were posted. i usually check out the stores advertised at bgg. pero not yet had the chance to import stuff. kinda still new to this craft and most importantly no funds. but i hope others share. pero i think there's a similar posts na of this matter somewhere. cant remember lang san nakita.

[vladsee]

I usually order with noble knight games and have no complaints against them so far in terms of service.  Another site advertised at BGG is wargame depot and I have no complaints against their service either.  You can trust these retailers to deliver the goods to you.  Noble Knight though has cheaper shipping and larger inventory of games over wargame depot even in the wargame department. 

I've also shopped at Amazon and they're good in the books and cd department.  My order got delayed once because it was shipped during Xmas season, which is THE peak season for orders and deliveries, several years ago. I ordered a few RPG books from them without problems or delays ever since. 

[Mark Humphries]

I've gotten many years of consistently good service from Noble Knight Games.

I use Amazon for new English-language books, Powells and Abebooks for used ones. No problems with any of them.

[yamizero]

troll and toad seems to be the cheapest. though wala siyang free shipping within us. which would be unfortunate if you were planning na padala ng kakilala na nasa us.

[maskmanjoe]

gaebril, geeehm and I usually buy off of Thoughthammer and we've never had problems with them. Amazon too. we rely on balikbayan boxes though, not international shipping.

[kookoobah]

Maskmanjoe, how do you do it? I'm 50/50 on my balikbayan box adventures. Tips please.

[vladsee]

Yeah, I'm also curious on the balikbayan box method.  What is the process, cost, pros and cons? 

[maskmanjoe]

Balikbayan boxes are quite easy to work with. You essentially just need someone there to receive and pack in your goods. We send our items to either relatives or friends States-side, they pack our stuff and drop the box off sa post office to be shipped here. From what I know they are always shipped by sea and they are always tax free when they hit land here.

Pros:
- simple to work with
- easily acquirable (i think boxes are sold in the post office, among other places)
- varying sizes
- shipping cost comes with the box
- tax-free

Cons:
- very slow, can take months to arrive
- no tracking
- not 100% theft proof although we haven't lost items to theft yet
- uncertain of the shipping conditions it is in, so better pack everything with those foam peanuts

Its a risk each time but the cost savings are quite big

[kookoobah]

No tracking. Hmm. Why is this? Haha. Stupid games.

[vladsee]

Balikbayan boxes are quite easy to work with. You essentially just need someone there to receive and pack in your goods. We send our items to either relatives or friends States-side, they pack our stuff and drop the box off sa post office to be shipped here. From what I know they are always shipped by sea and they are always tax free when they hit land here.

Pros:
- simple to work with
- easily acquirable (i think boxes are sold in the post office, among other places)
- varying sizes
- shipping cost comes with the box
- tax-free

Cons:
- very slow, can take months to arrive
- no tracking
- not 100% theft proof although we haven't lost items to theft yet
- uncertain of the shipping conditions it is in, so better pack everything with those foam peanuts

Its a risk each time but the cost savings are quite big

I have relatives in LA. Medyo kapal mukha na lang to ask them to ship stuff for me.  Do your relatives shoulder the shipping cost or do you pay them back?   When the stuff arrives here in Manila, you pick it up as usual in the local post office but no tax?  How do they declare it in the US? 

I've had games shipped here and had no tracking either.  Also had risk of theft but thankfully not happened to me either.  Its a good thing the retailers I buy from are good in packing the games with all kinds of nifty foam, thick paper, inflated plastic bags, etc.  I havent had a mashed up game that I bought form them

This is very interesting and helpful...

[maskmanjoe]

I have relatives in LA. Medyo kapal mukha na lang to ask them to ship stuff for me.  Do your relatives shoulder the shipping cost or do you pay them back?   When the stuff arrives here in Manila, you pick it up as usual in the local post office but no tax?  How do they declare it in the US? 

I am not sure, but from what I am told if its in a balikbayan box its almost always considered "gift".  The relatives or friends initially shoulder cost of buying the box (which as mentioned already includes the shipping costs) and we pay them back. Its definitely not door-to-door so sa post office nga ata ang pickup. I'll have to confirm with my friends about this

[yamizero]

wasn't there someone who offered joining in " balikbayan boxing " with them? is/was this a continuing service (before)?

also interested how much is it. i've been told (though this might be exageration) that it reached a $180! hope it isnt true. though yes it is tax free already

[maskmanjoe]

depends on the box size i believe. so far we've only gone up to a medium sized box, enough for probably 5 square box games and a few books. i forget how much it cost us but it didnt reach $100 for sure

[yamizero]

(shameless post)

anyone planning on ordering from thought hammer? pls do notify me. pede bang makijoin in? i really can't afford to make use of the $150 cart for free shipping w/in us. not that im in us but if your planning to ask affiliates there to help with shipping.