Remember the 'Foreign Buyers' Club'?

[Taro Toporific]

The FBC used to be the savior of gaijin back in the late '80s and early '90s, abet OVERPRICED (and too Jesus freaky).

Foreign Buyers' Club General Store is out of Business Sunday http://www.fbcusa.com/closing-general-store

The FBC used to be 40+ person "personal-import" company down in Port Island, Kobe's Dejima*. Recently, they have been down to just two people, the founder Chuck and his daughter. Sadly, Chuck has got cancer real bad, so the main store closes Sunday. However, the "Learning Center" (English teaching book store) and the tiny fresh food "Deli" will remain open.

[Grumpy Gramps]

Yes, I bought something from them once or twice, but then the tides turned pretty quickly and there was almost nothing you couldn't get cheaper locally.

Sad story though. According to Jesus, only 144000 will be saved. The FBC guy seems not to be one of them. Wishing him all the best anyway.

[Mike Oxlong]

I think that last time I used their services was when I was partying like it was 1999.

[Russell]

Online shopping caught up with them, apparently.

[Taro Toporific]

Online shopping caught up with them, apparently.

Hey, "online" still hasn't caught up to COSCO JAPAN, which has been "Coming soon" since June 2018.

COMING-SOON-since-June-2018.jpg

Re: Costco, WTF?
Posted by Taro Toporific » Wed Jun 13, 2018 6:43 pm

COSTCO JAPAN TO START WEBSITE SALES IN 2019
businessinsider.jp (日本語) | 2018-June-13
The reasoning according to Costco Japan's president Ken Terio is that, "Amazon is a huge monster."

Costco Japan's lazy/late entry into e-commerce has always been a mystery to me.

[Russell]

Online shopping caught up with them, apparently.

Hey, "online" still hasn't caught up to COSCO JAPAN, which has been "Coming soon" since June 2018.

COMING-SOON-since-June-2018.jpg

Re: Costco, WTF?
Posted by Taro Toporific » Wed Jun 13, 2018 6:43 pm

COSTCO JAPAN TO START WEBSITE SALES IN 2019
businessinsider.jp (日本語) | 2018-June-13
The reasoning according to Costco Japan's president Ken Terio is that, "Amazon is a huge monster."

Costco Japan's lazy/late entry into e-commerce has always been a mystery to me.

OK, let me amend that:

Costco caught up with them.

Actually, makes kind of sense. Most of the stuff at FBC was from the US, as is the stuff at Costco.

If only FBC would've had more stuff from the Netherlands...

BTW, one of the competitors of FBC was Kobe Grocers.



Apparently, they are still in business.

[matsuki]

Online shopping caught up with them, apparently.

Hey, "online" still hasn't caught up to COSCO JAPAN, which has been "Coming soon" since June 2018.

COMING-SOON-since-June-2018.jpg

The staff told me it was coming this summer....and now that we're balls deep in autumn, I declare this a lie!

I want me some Kirkland Goat Cheese!

[Taro Toporific]

The staff told me it was coming this summer....and now that we're balls deep in autumn, I declare this a lie!

As I said before, it has been "Coming soon" since June 2018. "

I doubt that COSTCO Japan is even trying.

Interview with Japan operations is Representative Director and Country Manager Ken Theriault | Feb. 21, 2011

Do you deliver and can members shop online?
We do deliver but as of yet, you cannot shop online. This is always being discussed because many of our small and medium-sized business customers buy from us and sell online. In other countries, like Canada and the U.S., Costco does sell high-end items online as well as a large variety of items from electronics to flowers.

[matsuki]

Right but this year they have an online registration campaign going on for it, seemingly preparing for launch. I had issues because (Japan)they fucked up and put my middle name as my last name. The customer rep seemed certain the online store would be open of summer this year. As you say, the effort is quite silly.

[Russell]

Right but this year they have an online registration campaign going on for it, seemingly preparing for launch. I had issues because (Japan)they fucked up and put my middle name as my last name. The customer rep seemed certain the online store would be open of summer this year. As you say, the effort is quite silly.

Give them some time to make their web site work properly on the Netscape browser...

[matsuki]

Right but this year they have an online registration campaign going on for it, seemingly preparing for launch. I had issues because (Japan)they fucked up and put my middle name as my last name. The customer rep seemed certain the online store would be open of summer this year. As you say, the effort is quite silly.

Give them some time to make their web site work properly on the Netscape browser...

At least I didn't have to fax in my registration

[Russell]

Right but this year they have an online registration campaign going on for it, seemingly preparing for launch. I had issues because (Japan)they fucked up and put my middle name as my last name. The customer rep seemed certain the online store would be open of summer this year. As you say, the effort is quite silly.

Give them some time to make their web site work properly on the Netscape browser...

At least I didn't have to fax in my registration

That's called progress!

[matsuki]

Right but this year they have an online registration campaign going on for it, seemingly preparing for launch. I had issues because (Japan)they fucked up and put my middle name as my last name. The customer rep seemed certain the online store would be open of summer this year. As you say, the effort is quite silly.

Give them some time to make their web site work properly on the Netscape browser...

At least I didn't have to fax in my registration

That's called progress!

...and then I go an preregister for a major trade show online, expecting a confirmation no by e-mail. Nope, the form just formats your registration and e-mails you it in basic txt and asks you to print it out and bring it to the event. Automation and robots save Japan? Pwahahahahahahahaha

[Thanatos' embalmed botfly]

As I said before, it has been "Coming soon" since June 2018. "

I doubt that COSTCO Japan is even trying.

I know someone who was involved with implementing the online thing and it is a shitshow from hell. The management are just utterly, utterly dumb dickheads. Lazy, useless, power-mad bullying fuckwits. Did I mention ldumb?

pal reckons they are like all the worst aspects of j-corp mismanagement synthesised into a single hub of FuckTard Central.

Grunts are leaving left, right and centre.

[matsuki]

Getting "the countdown begins" notices....let the circus begin!

[Taro Toporific]

Getting "the countdown begins" notices....let the circus begin!

She-e-e-e-it! Their system just rejected my current/paid-up/valid Costco membership number, grrr.

www.costco.co.jp/AreYouReady
Online Shopping Coming Soon
Start preparing now!
1
My Account
- Register your Costco membership online
- Confirm your shipping address...

Costco-Screen Shot 2019-11-21 at 22.03.50.png

[matsuki]

Mine had my name fucked so I did the registration in front of them on one of their tablets to handle it. Fix my name? Nope...used my middle name. Blehhh

[Taro Toporific]

Getting "the countdown begins" notices....let the circus begin!

I went COSTCO Kawasaki last night to fix my "Online" membership. I asked the store's manager what is up with the long delay. He said it is going to be "a long time" before COSTCO Japan gets online.
Why?
The manager said the TAKKYUBIN companies are arguing with COSTCO Japan about the "fair" cost of making deliveries.
COSTCO has a flat rate for delivery: 500 yen for up to a 20kg (44lbs) box. But their takkyubin company, Sagawa Express, wants more money from COSTCO and COSTCO wants a reduction of fees. The COSTCO manager said all talks with the TAKKYUBIN companies have "broken down" and there is NO takkyubin company willing (or has the ability to) take on such a huge new customer like COSTCO.

[Grumpy Gramps]

Weird, I just got an e-mail from them stating the opposite:

costco_fake_news.jpg

[Taro Toporific]

Weird, I just got an e-mail from them stating the opposite:

[attachment 0]costco_fake_news.jpg[/attachment]

Figures.

Even COSTCO management doesn't know what the Online is doing.
Note however that they insane cocksuckers sent an image file (costco_fake_news.jpg) and no TEXT so there's no way to read it on a text-to-speech reader or run it through google translate, meh.

Also note that the "preorder" online store only has 3 items. https://www.costco.co.jp/Deli/c/cos_98

[Grumpy Gramps]

Note however that they insane cocksuckers sent an image file (costco_fake_news.jpg) and no TEXT so there's no way to read it on a text-to-speech reader or run it through google translate, meh.

Now that you mention it, I tried to run a simple screen shot of that pic throug Google Translate (Android). No problem. Maybe it can't be done on a real computer?

Still, the imbecility to embed a little text in a (way too) big jpg in emails and websites is maybe one of the uniquely Japanese little quirks that we learned to love so much over time. And it surely provides lots of jobs for third tier "graphics designers", who'd otherwise surely be homeless.

[matsuki]

Getting "the countdown begins" notices....let the circus begin!

I went COSTCO Kawasaki last night to fix my "Online" membership. I asked the store's manager what is up with the long delay. He said it is going to be "a long time" before COSTCO Japan gets online.
Why?
The manager said the TAKKYUBIN companies are arguing with COSTCO Japan about the "fair" cost of making deliveries.
COSTCO has a flat rate for delivery: 500 yen for up to a 20kg (44lbs) box. But their takkyubin company, Sagawa Express, wants more money from COSTCO and COSTCO wants a reduction of fees. The COSTCO manager said all talks with the TAKKYUBIN companies have "broken down" and there is NO takkyubin company willing (or has the ability to) take on such a huge new customer like COSTCO.

LOL, I hear this type of talk from all the takkyubin guys regarding Amazon....and lately most of my Amazon deliveries are arriving in unmarked kei-vans with plain clothes guys rocking the little scanners. Judging by the mess that the Kuroneko app is, they fallin' behind...as usual.

[Taro Toporific]

Getting "the countdown begins" notices....let the circus begin!

It appears that COSTCO is paying for the shipping and selling at the regular (Japanese) price!

"Standard Shipping Included"

KIRKLAND SIGNATURE SPICED RUM 1750ml
Item #819195

¥1,998
Standard Shipping Included[
https://www.costco.co.jp/Kirkland-Signa ... l/p/819195

[matsuki]

Just had to give a shoutout to Costco here...my second espresso machine's grinder motor died after 3 years. No receipt, out of warranty, 100V Japaneeezu model specific part numbers, and the ronavirus apparently killed the Japanese importer/service center. (I tried, I really tried) Costco supposedly will refund you no matter what so I decided to give it a go....staff said no problem and found it in my purchase history. Been soo long I had forgotten what I paid for it but dayam was it expensive. Too bad they no longer carry it...or any expresso machines for that matter (everyone's going to those pods now) So naturally I took the massive refund and forked over a lil more for an even more advanced machine. Can't survive without that caffeine hit every morning!!

[Taro Toporific]

Can't survive without that caffeine hit every morning!!

Coffee pods are for pod people.

Coffee pods an expensive waste and an eco disaster. Coffee pods also leak nano-plastics into coffee like BPA, BPF, BPS and Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors that create hormone imbalances, weight gain, effeminating pseudo-estrogens, etc.

Just buy one of these classic, octagon-shaped, stovetop, 6-cup espresso maker at Seiyu or Kaldi for 1,500yen and a burr-type coffee grinder (battery or 100V if you are too lazy to turn a crank). Job done.

expreeso-maker.jpg

[matsuki]

I went fully lazy...

[kurogane]

Can't survive without that caffeine hit every morning!!

Coffee pods are for pod people.

Coffee pods an expensive waste and an eco disaster.

Right said. When I first heard of those I thought it was a Saturday Night Live parody, like the Bag O' Glass.

I went fully lazy...

Full lazy, maybe, but not full stupid, right? That is a bean machine, isn't it? It takes that wondrous thing called Coffee and pours water through it to produce the ebony nectar, yes? Then you are absolved. Coffee pods should be banned alongside those posionous energy drinks (you drink those, doncha?). Honestly, the crap You Kidz put into yourselves these days. At least we had heavy addictive drugs.

[matsuki]

I went fully lazy...

Full lazy, maybe, but not full stupid, right? That is a bean machine, isn't it? It takes that wondrous thing called Coffee and pours water through it to produce the ebony nectar, yes? Then you are absolved. Coffee pods should be banned

Indeed, I always thought they were damn wasteful but Taro brought up good points about the shit they're made of leaching into your drink...no bueno

Machine arrived this morning, set up and ran a few drinks though. I have to say it's a more than a step up from my old unit. Way smoother, deeper, flavor. Not too often do you get a chance to try the same beans from the same bag on two different machines. Also has a bigger water reservoir and everything on it is front loading so I don't need to make room on each side to pull out the reservoir or grinding catch. (last machine was really odd shaped and side loading) Only downside is it's a bit long so I had to grab some wood planks to support how much it overhangs my shelf. Caveman fix for a machine that costs as much as a used kei car but it works.

alongside those posionous energy drinks (you drink those, doncha?). Honestly, the crap You Kidz put into yourselves these days. At least we had heavy addictive drugs.

In the past I've drank them one rare occasions when I actually needed the caffeine kick or the occasional redbull vodka at a bar but I was never slurping that shit down on a regular basis. On the other hand, I know/knew people that drink it daily....most of them didn't like coffee and were of a "it's got vitamins!" mindset.

[Taro Toporific]

It's official. The Foreign Buyers Club (FBC) is totally out of business. fbcusa.com/we-are-closing

The FBC used to be the savior of gaijin back in the late '80s and early '90s, abet OVERPRICED (and too Jesus freaky).
Foreign Buyers' Club General Store is out of Business Sunday http://www.fbcusa.com/closing-general-store
The FBC used to be 40+ person "personal-import" company down in Port Island, Kobe's Dejima*. Recently, they have been down to just two people, the founder Chuck and his daughter. Sadly, Chuck has got cancer real bad, so the main store closes Sunday. However, the "Learning Center" (English teaching book store) and the tiny fresh food "Deli" will remain open.

~~~~~~~~~~
Update:

Chuck Grafft, Founder of FBC passed away
https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comm ... _passed_aw[url]reddit.com/r/japanlife 2021-June-29[/url]
Chuck passed away from Cancer yesterday. He was the nicest guy, and he loved people and he loved God. As he was winding down FBC, he was helping out at his church in Japan, Kobe Union Church.
...his family would appreciate prayers. Many of us....have been blessed by his generosity, and the things that FBC provided before Costco and iHerb.