Thursday, August 1, 2019

Mid-Summer 2019 Update



I've had this update sitting in my drafts for so long because I've been so preoccupied...I should probably provide some insight as to what's been going on recently:

☆The items from April to July (Maji Love Kingdom, Prince Cat Winter Holiday, VR Zone STARISH Secret Party) are finally finished!!! Unfortunately I'm sure a lot of people who requested Tokiya were disappointed to find that they didn't get some of his trading items. It's been incredibly difficult to trade because it seems the movie has made his popularity skyrocket. Also, I don't really follow Japanese voice actors but I do know that Mamoru Miyano (Tokiya's voice actor) has broken into Japanese mainstream television, to the point where even people who don't normally watch anime or movies know who he is and have probably learned about UtaPri recently. So if you are a Tokiya fan requesting him for trading items, not only will it be competitive among other people signing up for the group order, but it will also be competitive while I trade with Japanese fans... (On a side note, Ranmaru has also been especially difficult to get!)

For people who request trading items often, I'll let you in on a secret: The more you order, the more likely you are to get the character you want. If you order only one can badge and request Tokiya, if I have enough then I can accommodate for your request. But if someone else orders ten can badges and one of the requests is Tokiya, I may give them priority.

In addition, naming other characters doesn't mean I'll automatically give your top priority to someone else! If you request Tokiya, Otoya and Masato, and someone else only requests Tokiya, it doesn't automatically mean I'll prioritize them over you. Naming second/third/fourth priorities just means that if I can't get the character you want first, I can try to make sure that the character you get isn't totally random.

☆Next, I just recently wrapped up Dream Star Live and Secret Garden Party orders. Some people have received their SGP items already because I was able to pick up their entire order at the last pop-up shop in Tokyo. I'll be holding everyone else's items until the online order arrives this fall. My apologies to anyone who missed the above orders because they were so quick, Recently it's been difficult for me to get out information and links all at one time.

☆In case you haven't noticed on Tumblr and Facebook, I recently started taking requests for the first Shining Store shopping service, and a lot of you already signed up!!! I'll do my best to pick up as much as possible. I'm still debating on whether to host online orders because of the timing of their release (February of next year, during which I'm hoping to move out of my apartment) but it seems the dates for the Web Store have already been posted. PRINCE CAT is by far the most stressful order to take care of because of the size of the packaging, so I'll be thinking about that one that most.

You can find the links to the sign-up forms on the Group Pre-Order Status Page!

☆Thank you to everyone who provided feedback via the survey that I linked a few months ago! Here are some thoughts on the results I've read:

It comes as no surprise that many of you like the benefit when it comes to trading items. While I wish I could just get everything that everyone requests, I'm glad I can at least increase the chances! I'm also glad to know that many of you feel comfortable working with me rather than with a proxy or forwarding service.

Unfortunately, while many of you do like the combined shipping, this is actually the most difficult for me to accommodate. Keeping items for months at a time takes up a lot of space and makes it harder for me to work, and the longer that I hold onto something, the worse my memory becomes. I've invested in some supplies to organize items better, but right now I'd like to focus on other activities.

Some of you noticed already that I've been changing the way I collect payments and set deadlines, thank you very much for your understanding as well as staying alert when an invoice is sent! Now that I have some of my own money in the bank, and because many of you stay on top of making payments, it's a little easier for me to order faster and collect payment afterwards.

Even though I've had a little time to breathe in the last few weeks, it's still very difficult for me to keep up with my online activities, as you may have noticed from how quiet my social media has been. But I'm eternally grateful for all of the support and encouragement I've gotten from everyone, and that's why I'm so determined to help in any way I can!

No comments:

Post a Comment