"prices good. delivery terrible."

"horrible customers and they are useless. no resolution on the problem. i cancelled my order already and will never buy from them again. don't waste your time on this store. there are a lot other stores available."

"I have used hobby search for many years but I can’t stand by this company any longer. I canceled an item within the acceptable window and it completely disappeared from my orders. Then suddenly two years later after what I assume to be many delays on the item, they send me a payment request. I explained to them that it was canceled and they just don’t listen. They want 10% to cancel it. I paid to avoid a headache, but am beyond annoyed that I was forced to and ignored multiple times when I brought it up that I had canceled it. The company was also horrible to me while I was in the hospital and couldn’t pay for an order. I have not ordered since and am just waiting for my last preorder to ship so I can be finished with this terrible company once and for all. "

"Had a lot of pre-orders ready to be purchased from this company.
Before I always bought at their store cause they did package it for me good enough.
I recently changed my mail account, as I got my own mail server.
Because of busy times, vacation and covid, I was unable to keep a eye on my email account, which could be said my own fault.
Problem was, out of nowhere just at the time I had covid, they started preparing asking payments for 2 items, which have been delayed a couple of times, and I've overlooked those emails.
Eventually they blocked my account, and didn't let me pay for the 2nd pre-order.
Emailed them, no response after a week, emailed them again to have them solve it with me, no response again.
Had enough with them, now I'm with Solaris Japan, and they have GREAT (and I mean, really great) reviews, albeit a little more expansive, but from what I can see it's worth it.
Thanks Hobby Search, but because of poor and lack of communication and not responding, I'll be doing my buying elsewhere.

P.S.: I don't mind paying up front, which is the case with Solaris, but with Hobby Search, if PayPal or any other payment gateway has trouble, you will always have problems with them as well, and you will lose access to your account and pre-orders..."

"Terrible service
Terrible service. I didn’t receive the package, waited over 6 months. I asked for help several times with tracking and they didn't help me. Because of waiting time the bank couldn't help me either (after 2 months it's impossible to get money back from credit card) The money was not returned to me. I have order Tamiya Phantom over six months ago and lost over 100 USD.
Worst model store experience ever !!"

"My first time ordering from them was my last, I waited for months on a pre-order item, once it was available, they charged my Credit Card. I then picked my choice for a shipping method and the cost was more than the item I had just paid for, but I wanted secure shipping and I paid dearly for it! For some unknown reason to me, their system would not accept my payment for the shipping fee and I was using Paypal! Because my payment failed, I received within moments, a threatening email stating that my order and my account would be deleted and I would not be allowed to order from them again, well, I got angry and fired off an email demanding a refund and cancel my account, which they did! I promptly vowed to myself, never again!!!!"

"I bought a Dynaction Evangelion Unit 02 from Hobby Search and it came defective with a seized bottom joint. When trying to articulate the figure, the screw that connects the two halves of the figure stripped out due to this seized joint and broke the figure. I contacted customer service and other than the initial response, I have been ignored. They are a horrible company with great inventory. Like other Japanese retailers, they gouge on international shipping prices, but unlike those other retailers, they do not stand behind the products they sell. If you absolutely must buy from them, know that you’ll get your product, but if anything goes wrong, they will not help. They are useless."

"communication was nice. The shipping was really fast. The shipping was a little expensive but it came from Japan so it's not a big deal. The products are cheaper than the official stores and order combination is really easy to use. I really recommend this seller."

"I have no idea why this company has such bad reviews here but my experience was great from beginning to end. It had been a LONG time since I last bought from them (I stopped collecting anime stuff), but my most recent purchase was in July 2021 where I bought 2 Nendoroid figures and a small acrylic coaster.

**SHIPPING**
Y'all have to understand that currently !!Japan Post offers limited shipping services due to COVID!! This is something that is going on with pretty much all online Japanese retailers. You need to check out Japan Post Service Availability by Country to see which services are offered to your country right now.

I originally selected EMS but unfortunately JPost considers PR differently from USA so instead my package was shipped via Surface Parcel which takes a looong time to arrive. Shipping cost for my order was ~$20 - that's not crazy expensive at all. It had a tracking number so I was able to track it from when it left Japan to when it arrived to the US until delivery. The other option was DHL but that was crazy expensive so I was grateful for Surface.

**SERVICE**
I appreciate the customer service from the company. When they originally sent out my package, it got stopped by JPost and they kept checking with them to ensure it would return to them so they could ship it out via the correct service method. They responded to my emails to inform me of such and also to refund me for the difference. They were always kind and courteous.

**PACKAGING**
They use good quality cardboard boxes and they pad them well with paper so my items arrived in mint condition. I CANNOT STRESS OUT HOW HAPPY I AM WITH THIS considering a couple days ago I received a package from the US that was not well packaged and a Nendoroid box was destroyed.

So...that's my experience with them. I recommend always checking the FAQ section to ensure you understand the cancellation/return/refund policies of each store. Usually for Japanese retailers they will be quite difficult when it comes to canceling and too many cancellations even get you banned lol

Also, make sure to check the Japan Post "Service availability by country" so you can keep an eye out for when Airmail or SAL is back if you don't want to pay EMS/DHL prices or wait for Surface to arrive.

Sorry for the long read! Enjoy and happy shopping!"

"For objective reasons, I could not pay for my pre-order in this company. As a result, the company's employees blocked my account. After my request to unblock the account, the employees of the company in an offensive form demanded from me an amount that significantly exceeded the amount of my order !!! The company's rules state that the penalty is 10% of the order amount. In this company, blackmail and extortion from employees is rampant! "

"Ordered something and payed shipping TWICE. Never received it and the costumer support is awful. I Lost €80,- to this website and there’s no way I’ll ever get it back. Please don't order from them, they don't care."

"They charger 10% as a cancellation fee, which is total bull. Shipping also costs over $20, which is absolutely unacceptable."

"The customer support at Hobby Search screwed me out of a cancellation/refund"

"They just don't stand behind their products... For a while I was a big fan of Hobby Search - good inventory, reasonable prices, though they definitely gouge you on the shipping - but then I received a couple of carelessly-packed packages on different orders, where the figures inside were so closely packed that they damaged each other during shipment. Nothing too serious, but definitely an issue for a collector. So I pointed these issues out, only to get a link to their self-protective store policies and a veiled threat that I would have to pay more for shipping if I wanted better packaging. It turns out that, according to their store policies, they don't guarantee the condition of the figure boxes, just the figures themselves, and they don't take responsibility for the shipper they use. If the shipper seriously damages an item, they claim you have to contact the shipper to get compensation, not Hobby Search. Could you imagine a US-based company trying to pull that crap?! It really became an issue when they sent a package that was seriously damaged during shipment - crushed actually - and the figure boxes themselves were crushed as well. So does Hobby Search offer to return or replace the damaged items. No, of course not. They again point me to their onerous store policies and tell me that I have to contact the shipper to get compensation. So beware this seller - if you want to take the chance that everything goes perfectly, they are as good as anyone, I guess, but if something goes wrong with your order, you're screwed... I paid more than $300 for worthless figures from these bozos."

"I have used over a couple of years as have good supply of sought after model kits and have reservation ability - but every time there is a huge sting for postage - like half the price of what you have ordered. Ok I ship to uk or Australia so it's not local but it is over the top.

My recent example
Subtotal Cost 6,630 yen
HobbySearch Shipping Cost 3,850 yen
Total Cost 10,480 yen
So more than half the price of original box of light plastic to post - is that milking it?

Compared to competitors hobby easy, lucky model, sincere hobby, cyber hobby - shipping to U.K. or Australia - Hobby Search's postage option is 2-3 times more expensive. Buyer beware
"