New Volks Photo Book

So I pre-ordered this book when this thread first popped up and now i've received an email from Volks with a link on where to pay. However, I can not get through the payment page to actually pay. I can only get to the first step of inputting your address and when I press the continue button, it only refreshes the same page. Has anyone else got his email and had any troubles?

I did also try emailing Volks back but the email just bounced back. :/

 

Wait does this mean those of us who ordered the book from the internaitonal site can't use the coupans in US? I'm confused.

 

Correct. Volks posted that they would accept coupons *in the US* only from the *US Preorder* of the book. I'm trying to remember where they posted that info (Toppi's blog?) I'll see if I can find it.

UPDATE: Haven't located the info because, holy crap, they've updated the design of the site!

UPDATE 2, 11:03pm ET:
From the May 17th entry on Toppi's blog:
The coupons for the limited Items will be enclosed in the book, the instructions for applying will be printed on the coupons.

We only accept the coupons which are exclusively printed for VOLKS USA. We cannot accept other coupons that were printed for Japan international site or Korean Site.

If we receive more applicants, then we will hold a lottery.

 

My credit card was charged back in early May when I pre-ordered the book. It has already appeared on my last months credit card statement.

 

I got an email too, and when I went to check out, they want 7200 yen for shipping, making the book nearly $200!!!

I've decided to skip the book entirely. That's too much for a book of pretty pics and some coupons. 0.o

 

Hmmm...they are selling copies of the book at the NYC tea party. Are we going to be able to use those coupons even though it's not a preorder? Or is it preorder only? It doesn't seem to say preorder only...

I hope they allow us to use the coupons! I'd really love to get Liz but there's no way I can buy the book before then.

 

Hey Gina - think you can get them to fix the shipping? I almost fell over when I saw that. $190ish for a book sight unseen? Feels like madness to me.

 

The reason the shipping is so high is because the book is very big and very heavy. If you see Loki's post about her copy, which has arrived, you can see that it's a very large book. (And remember, it's really two books and a DVD, not just one book!)

 

I received mine today. This book is really heavy~ About 4kg!

With my MSD Manabu.

 

I just hope that those of us who ordered from the Intl. site can enter our coupons there

But this might have been one instance where it is cheaper to order from the US site than overseas!

I'm excited, I lurve the picture books, and the SD Bible was little bit of a disappointment, I hope this one is more love.

 

No idea, but those of us who ordered from Volks International can now make our payments for the book!

 

I can't speak exactly for certain, having not seen the international release books (well, nobody has yet, of course!) but I've seen a scan of the form that comes with the Japanese release version of the book. It states clearly that the enclosed form is for residents living in Japan who ordered the book within Japan only. It goes on to state that for those who have ordered/bought it via the Tenshi no Sumika in Seoul, the Tenshi no Sumika in LA, and the International Website, there is a separate application method which they should consult instead. That's a rough on-the-fly translation, sorry, but basically it's saying that there's a separate application depending on where you bought the book, so yes, there will be some way to apply for the lottery no matter where you bought the book, including if it was via the International site.

 

Oh dear, I'm afraid I'm lost between these two conflicting statements...

I was a spaz & ordered one of these books from each the USA & JP sites. Oops. True to your translation, I did receive separate emails & payment-submissions for each. That part's all fine. Now my final concern is whether I will be eligible to even use the JP coupons to enter the lottery-- even on the JP site-- because I'm not a JP resident. Cassiel, does the context on that form, maybe, clarify which of those two statements is true?

If the coupon is useless to non-JP residents, I wish they'd've blocked sales of the book to all non-JP residents from the start (easy for them do on their shopping-cart form). At the very least, they might've taken the time to mention it in very bold letters on the pre-order page back in May. If it's useless, I'm sure somebody would still like to buy it for the pictures, though. (Extra thx to loki for that post full of pix.)

 

You may have ordered on the JP site, but you ordered with an international address, didn't you? If so, then you'll be sent the international version of the form. The JP side of the website is not restricted to residents of Japan only -- there are Japanese residents living abroad who are Volks fans too, who will order from the JP website, not the English. The form sent with the Japanese version of the book said it was for people living with in Japan only -- and that those who ordered on the international website would get a different form. You ordered on the international website if you used an international address. Volks isn't going to send the internal Japan form to an international address. They're shipping the international ones out separately. In fact, if I read correctly on the website (I was taking a peek earlier) all the ones for orders made within Japan have already been shipped out. All the invoices that are being sent out now are for international orders.

I will say to not quote me on that, but really, the book is being sold in limited numbers and Volks are known to pay careful attention to detail. I can't see them sending Japan-only coupons to an international address, not when they have an international version.

 

Yep, I did order with an int'l address-- that's why I couldn't really believe that Volks would allow an int'l purchase, and then disallow the coupons!

That's a wrinkle I hadn't expected, that they'd send an international-version of it, even though it was ordered via the JP site. I mean, of course that's the logical thing to do, but when it comes to international commerce, you can never assume that the Logical Thing applies. Very good of them!

Their system is really very byzantine... and yet, it works. I always appreciate their pre-orders and lotteries, no matter how tangled, because no money ever changes hands unless you're guaranteed to get the item. Volks have never let me down so far. So now I'll only need to keep my fingers crossed for the Lottery Faeries to come through.

Many thanks for helping clear that up, Cassiel.

 

Is it too late to purchase this (in time for the lottery?) VolksUSA has it as a preorder, but when is the deadline to try to use the tickets?

 

Jenny:
I'm sure all will be well. Volks have some odd systems in place at times, but their dealings with the International market have always been managed carefully. Although my assurances are based on suppositions based on everything I've been reading and on past experience, I am certain that they will not mishandle the situation and that they will send international coupons for all the international orders, regardless of how they were placed. And sorry if my previous reply sounded short.. I get carried away when trying to impart information.

Elle:
The book was available through pre-order only; I don't know that there will be any way to get it other than via pre-order, although it's possible they may have some unclaimed copies they may sell, or you may be able to take over the order of someone who decides not to buy their pre-order after all.

As for the deadline for the tickets, if you mean the coupons for the lottery.. I don't know about the International version, but for the Japanese version, the coupons only need to be returned by August 31st, so there is quite a bit of leeway. Also, the winners of the lottery will not receive their items until October. That's for the Japanese version, anyway; the International version may be later still. And I'm not sure when they will announce the lottery winners. I expect they will probably do so on the website, though; that's what I've seen them do for things such as the Dolpa raffles that are drawn after the date.