Order and Payment
Most commonly we prefer to accept payment via Wire Transfer/International Bank Transfer to our bank in Japan.
PayPal
For amounts of less than ¥150,000 JPY PayPal is a more convenient option. You may use a PayPal account or a credit card. The fee for each transaction is 4% on the transferred amount (born by the buyer).
Wire Transfer
The wire transfer fee is ¥6500 JPY, per transaction, born by the buyer. For larger amounts, a wire transfer is cheaper. For any wire transfer your bank will make the currency conversion and detract the relative amount in your own currency from your account.
Credit Card
Our secure payment processor is PayPal for credit card payments. Please note the fee of 4% will be added to the buyer total. We accept payment in Japanese Yen. Your credit card provider will make the currency conversion automatically.
Once your order is confirmed we will send you the relevant details and instructions regarding payment.
Other Options
It may be convenient to use the automatic comparison tool here below:https://www.finder.com/international-money-transfers/send-money-to-japan
Deposit
Upon confirmation of your order we require a deposit of:
50% of the custom items (tub and platform).
Once the tub is completed, we will send the pictures for your verification and approval. If you are satisfied and we can proceed with the packaging, at that point we will need the balance payment.
The full balance must be paid in full prior to shipment:
Outstanding amount for custom tub and platform, any accessories plus the cost of packaging and shipping/transportation fees. We just have a limited margin on this product and we cannot afford to take any risk on the payment of the tub.
Packaging / Shipping / Transportation
Due to the fragile nature of our custom-made baths we build a sturdy wooden box to ship it in. The bath is first wrapped in plastic. These precautions are necessary to protect your bath from damage during shipping. Packaging is a non-negotiable cost.
Is the cost inclusive of transportation?
Yes. Each personalized quote includes pick-up in Japan, freight (usually Air via DHL or FedEx), terminal charges and delivery to your door (unless you specify otherwise). We guarantee delivery to your home within 6~8 weeks from the time of confirmed order.
The bathtub unit is delivered in one piece for trouble-free installation. It is not flat-pack, no assembly required beyond installation by your builder / plumber.
Sales Taxes
The price may not include sales taxes. In most cases you (the consignee) will have to fill in a customs application (it can be done by fax) which costs US$200-250 and includes sales tax. You should not have to pay any other charges.
VAT
From time to time we have inquiries about VAT, especially for European countries. Please contact us for more details. We have shipped successfully to most countries around the world so we have experience to draw on.
Currency
We often receive requests for pricelists in USD or EUR. Our invariable answer is that we can only accept payments in JPY (japanese yen). The reason is simple and is based on our comittment to providing our customers the best price conditions.
You know that currencies exchange rate fluctuate. To build a tub we need from 1 to 6 weeks depending on the model and the period of the year. Before entering in production, we correspond with the client for 1-2months, often even more. As you understand there is the likelihood that the exchange rate varies during the period from the original quotation to the actual date of the pre-payment and balance payment. It is called the “currency fluctuation risk”.
Q> Do you think we can bear this risk for free?
A> No, we can not. We operate on a low margin, direct sale model and we cannot afford to lose money on a transaction.
There are two ways of dealing with this “currency fluctuation risk”.
1) We can build up in the prices an additional percentage (let`s say +10% to guarantee a foreign currency quote up to 6 months)
2) We can bill our net prices in JPY and the client pays for the current market value
We always recommend option 2).
We do not like and strongly dis-recommend option 1).
Said so, if a client insists to have an invoice in foreign currency, we will consult with our bank, evaluate the fluctuation risk (of course on the “safe side”) and let you know the risk margin that we need to consider for the transaction.
