don't panic but

[wednesday_10_00]

bk1 is being swallowed up into some (e-book?) site called "honto." It looks like they are still going to accept international orders (if you have placed an international order before--wait, what?), but there's nothing about shipping policies, so who knows if they will still offer SAL shipping or not. (Maybe we should panic about that one.)

Gah. GAH.

Comments

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I got the email, and it sounded to me that they were just adding e-book service on top of what they were already doing.

Here's the pertinent quote:
今回のリニューアルで、検索機能の向上やビーケーワン・モバイルビーケーワ
ンの統合に加えて、新たに電子書籍の取り扱いや提携書店でも貯まる新ポイン
トサービスを追加し、これまで以上に快適でお客様のお役にたつサービスを提
供してまいります。

"With this renewal, in addition to enhancing the search function and combining bk1 and mobile-bk1, we will handle e-books and you can earn points on the cell phone site, so we will be providing you with even more helpful service than before."

It doesn't say anything about shipping options specifically, though.

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

it sounded to me that they were just adding e-book service on top of what they were already doing.

I dunno, I think the fact that they are taking on the name of the (existing) e-book site makes it seem more significant than that.

A guy on the forum I linked to checked with them specifically, and they said they are keeping the same shipping options the same, so at least (for now) we'll still be able to order SAL. But the fact that they won't accept new international customers sure makes it seem like they're discouraging international business, and I think that's not a very good sign for us.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

But the fact that they won't accept new international customers sure makes it seem like they're discouraging international business, and I think that's not a very good sign for us.

I read that passage you quoted, and I think you are interpreting it too strictly. To me, when I read a phrase like "our international customers" they aren't specifically referring to people who have ordered in the past, they mean "any international person in a country that we service." They're just being polite about it by using the word "customer."

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

when I read a phrase like "our international customers" they aren't specifically referring to people who have ordered in the past, they mean "any international person in a country that we service."

Well, first of all, I don't know how you get "our international customers" out of これまで海外発送をご利用いただいていたお客様. But more importantly, the other guy in the thread wrote and specifically asked them (because he also thought I was being too literal) and they confirmed it. New customers (or customers who have only placed domestic orders in the past) won't be able to ship internationally after the change.

[mangaroo.livejournal.com]

...and what if I move? Will I be able to register a new international address? So alarming. (Don't know what to make of "progress"'s cynical take on how they might treat international orders. But I do now know how I feel about the change: sad. Or that could be the coffee prince kicking in.)

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

Will I be able to register a new international address?

Jeez, I didn't think of that. I hope so, since it would still be the same account which has placed international orders before.

Don't know what to make of "progress"'s cynical take on how they might treat international orders.

Best to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't happen, I guess. :/

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

But more importantly, the other guy in the thread wrote and specifically asked them (because he also thought I was being too literal) and they confirmed it.

Well, in that case, you're absolutely right about it being a bad sign. It also seems like an extremely strange policy. <sigh> It will be a real shame if the changes eventually result in having to stop using them as a service.

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

It also seems like an extremely strange policy.

Totally agreed (which is why I read that sentence about 50 times, thinking I must be misunderstanding it). I'm happy for the time being to be grandfathered in, but it doesn't make me comfortable about the future; I feel like this is the first step in phasing out international customers entirely.